Medical Student Mobilization During a Pandemic: The Ochsner Clinical School Response to COVID-19

摘要

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) had reached pandemic status. The United States experienced a rapid increase in cases that prompted statewide shutdowns, and hospitals quickly became overwhelmed with critically ill patients. Patient contact precautions evolved on a daily basis, and hospitals quickly depleted their stores of personal protective equipment (PPE). The unknown, but presumed highly infective, virus prompted hospitals to enact and enforce policies that forbade visitors from staying with their loved ones. Elective procedures and clinic appointments were paused until more information about the virus risk became available, keeping chronically ill patients from attending health maintenance appointments.On March 17, 2020, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) issued a statement strongly encouraging the temporary suspension of medical school clinical rotations nationwide.~(1) The question of whether to withdraw students from patient care during a pandemic is a challenging one. An argument can be made that medical students should be well trained in the use of PPE and not shielded from the realities of patient care, including potential exposure to contagions.~(2) The decision becomes whether the educational benefits outweigh the risks of potential disease transmission from student contact with patients in the setting of limited PPE.